After Tuesday’s State of the Union address, some are convinced that President Obama is out of touch with reality. An explanation can be found in his book, “The Audacity of Hope.” President Obama has no passion for the truth. In his words, what really counts is positioning: taking the stance the press folks have constructed for him, and effectively selling this position on TV.

From pages 127 and 128:

“Today’s politician understands … that there is no great reward in store for those who speak the truth, particularly when the truth may be complicated. The truth may cause consternation; the truth will be attacked; the media won’t have the patience to sort out all the facts and so the public may not know the difference between truth and falsehood. What comes to matter then is positioning – the statement on an issue that will avoid controversy or generate needed publicity, the stance that will fit both the image his press folks have constructed for him and one of the narrative boxes the media has created for politics in general. The politician may still, as a matter of personal integrity, insist on telling the truth as he sees it. But he does so knowing that whether he believes in his positions matters less than whether he looks like he believes; that straight talk counts less than whether it sounds straight on TV.”

Furthermore, if we can’t agree on an issue, the one who speaks the loudest and most obstinately wins. “The absence of even rough agreement on the facts puts every opinion on equal footing and therefore eliminates the basis for thoughtful compromise. It rewards not those who are right, but those – like the White House press office – who can make their arguments most loudly, most frequently, most obstinately, and with the best backdrop.”

It’s unfortunate many didn’t take the time to read President Obama’s book prior to voting for him.

John Besser

Laguna Niguel

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Although it’s always difficult to watch and listen to Mr. Obama, I did so out of deference to a few Democratic friends I have. I was hoping to have something positive to say should the subject come up. Mr. Obama left me empty handed. This was more a State of Obama than a State of the Union. His self-aggrandizing even had much of his audience bored, as one could see during the occasional scans of the crowd. The applause and standing ovations were limp, but no more than the statements deserved. Mr. Obama’s focus on his legacy and standing in history has always been in the forefront and that has been apparent in his rhetoric whenever he speaks.

It would be so refreshing to witness him actually take a viable stand, show some guts and do something really meaningful before he leaves office. No, not holding my breath.

Barbara Shepard

Huntington Beach

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Re: “Goodbye and good riddance, Mr. President” [Letters, Jan. 13], which claims that the president is the worst in 50 years. How soon we forget about what the president has done! When his presidency started, we were losing over 250,000 jobs a year. Since then, we have added millions of jobs, no thanks to the Republican-controlled Congress. Over 18 million people now have medical health coverage, no thanks to the Republicans.

A potential nuclear Iran is being stopped by his efforts at least for the foreseeable future. As for the Middle East, Republicans, especially the current 2016 candidates, continue to bash the president’s supposed failure there. Yet, while the president has repeatedly asked Congress for authorization for military action, there hasn’t been one.

Although there have been setbacks for this president, especially with regard to the Middle East and the economic benefits to the middle class, his presidency has been much better than the previous administration. If the reader thinks that the president was bad, just think what a Donald Trump or a Ted Cruz presidency would be in regard to their views on Social Security, Medicare, immigration and the Middle East.

Bob Machado

San Clemente

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Re: “Goodbye and good riddance, Mr. President” [Letters, Jan. 13]: Gee, I wonder how Mr. Foli really feels about President Obama? I think if the president were to announce he found a cure for Alzheimer, Mr. Foli would criticize him for finding a cure for the wrong disease.

I won’t go into all the things Obama has accomplished since he did that very clearly and eloquently in his State of the Union address, to the Republicans, who have no plans or ideas of their own. I would also suspect that Mr. Foli suffers from short term memory loss in his diatribe that Mr. Obama is the worst president in the last 50 years.

I submit to you the disaster called George W. Bush. President when we got hit on 9/11, invaded Iraq, bleeding thousands of jobs a month, Wall Street debacle, the list, of course, goes on. But Republicans like Mr. Foli continue to bury their heads in the sand and ignore that one word that escapes them – facts.